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For the last 11 years, Bizarre Foods host, culinary explorer and four-time James Beard Award winner Andrew Zimmern has explored cultures in over 170 countries. And tonight, Zimmern begins season 21 of his Travel Channel show by going back in time to rediscover the forgotten cuisines that embody the adventurous spirit of America’s earliest pioneers. The season takes Zimmern across the country to the places and plates that celebrate American history. Whether it’s trekking down Daniel Boone’s Wilderness Trail in Kentucky, searching for the modern cowboy in Texas, retracing Paul Revere’s revolutionary ride in Boston or cruising down the Mississippi River with a modern-day Mark Twain, this season offers an unforgettable glimpse into our nation’s food and culture. Parade sat down to find out why Zimmern thinks this season might be a welcome antidote to today’s political climate.

What excites you the most about this season?

It harkens back to the original idea I pitched all those years ago which was ‘let’s do great journeys.’ My goal is to embrace these journeys for their history, for the foods we encounter as we follow in the footsteps of Lewis & Clark or Huck Finn going down the Mississippi River or in the case of tonight’s first episode, the cowboys pushing their herds down the Chisholm Trail.

Why has your show resonated so much with viewers?

At the end of the day, I think great TV is about great stories and great characters. I think if I shot a show in an apartment building with great stories and great characters, people would be glued to it. I call what we do ‘adventure learning’ and that’s another reason I think you have something here that’s really cool.

It’s kind of patriotic, too, to trace our country’s early history. Was that intentional?

Here’s the thing: At no other time since the Civil War has our country become as divided as it is now. I see more ties to our country today to the Middle East than I ever have in terms of sectarian politics. I think my show, which is apolitical, demonstrates that people all over the country, no matter their race, creed, sexuality, their taste for music, regardless for how they’re experiencing their life, have more common than we ever imagined. That’s always been the mission of my show. My show is about patience, tolerance and understanding.

Interesting that you’re starting the series with a modern vaquero from the Coahuiltecan Nation who teaches you about the tradition of barbacoa, where a cow’s head is slow roasted to perfection. You have to be brave to eat that, no?

I don’t think so. Someone’s grandmother made that. But I’m glad you asked about this because when people think cowboy they think John Wayne but the original cowboy was in Mexico. In our first episode, we meet a family trying to preserve the vaquero culture. People want to pick and choose what they want to remember from history but Texas was Mexico 200 years ago. I’m obsessed with that fact. In today’s world, it’s an idea worth remembering. I’m super convinced that as people unravel the cowboy trail and we take them through time—including a bump-in with some real cowboys on the range eating what they call ‘Son of a Bitch Stew’ made of calf heart, tongue, stomach, liver and marrow gut, eaten right around a chuck wagon—we have a chance to explore the mythology and truth behind it all. That’s the coolest part for me.

Do you get tired of being asked about the craziest foods you’ve ever eaten?

I’ve stopped answering questions about the gross things I’ve eaten. That’s not how the people in those towns see their food so why should I consider it that way. In fact, bizarre means unique and interesting. That’s how Webster’s defines it.

Is there a place you visited that was unlike what you expected?

To me it would have to be our tribal shows, where we eat what we find in the jungle, in the woods, with a tribe in Botswana or the first peoples of Canada and the Alaskan trail like we do this year. That’s usually where you find the strangest things. For example, I’d never eaten a roasted varmint before. I had the opportunity to eat it this season with the first peoples of western Canada. It was an amazing experience and there will be lots more.

Season 21 of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern premieres at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, July 25 on Travel Channel.